Collective haul + new daily staples

It's not new news that I disappear then re-appear on my beauty blog every now and then. Sorry, again... and hi. :)

I haven't been able to splurge as much as I'd like to lately, but I've managed to buy total must-haves, except maybe the VS lip gloss since I'm not a big fan of lip gloss. It was on sale for $1.75 during their semi-annual sale.

Victoria Secret lip gloss in Ms. Mojita $7.00 - I wanted to give lip gloss another go, and since this was only $1.75, it wasn't heartbreaking. I can stand using lip gloss indoors, but I don't like it outdoors where my hair blows all over my face. I end up licking off this lip gloss because it smells so yummy. It doesn't taste as it smells, but it doesn't taste nasty.

Chapstick in green tea mint $3.99 - One day I was "craving" for that minty feeling on my lips and so I got my fix at Walgreens and bought this lip moisturizer. I've been using it everyday because I love it! Alternatively, I have other moisturizers that I love: MAC lip conditioner SPF 15, Rosebud Perfume Co. strawberry lip balm, and Ole Henriksen African red tea lip salvation.

MAC pro long wear concealer in NC42 $16.50 - MAC pro long wear is the best foundation and concealer at the MAC store suitable for my oily skin. I use this concealer to cover my dark circles as well as attempt to highlight my face, but I need more practice on that. I apply this with my Revlon crease brush, it's like a mini MAC 224 brush, sort of. Sometimes I skip concealer and just go straight to foundation.

Make Up For Ever HD foundation in 153 $40.00 - This is the most expensive cosmetic product I've bought so far, and it was worth it. I don't use foundation everyday, so this will last me a long time. I think I'm a closer match to 173, but I got 153 because I apply just a sheer layer of foundation to my face to give me a brighter complexion since my neck gets lighter than my face. I'm a number of shades all over my body, but I can't avoid how much the sun hits my face. The consistency seems thin, but it has good coverage. I love it because I have oily skin so that's a plus. Also, I could never find the right shade of department store foundation elsewhere besides at MAC, so that's why I got this too. It's a notable foundation as well as more affordable compared to other higher-end brands that I'm not willing to splurge on. This is a great buy. I've stopped reaching out for my MAC studio fix and pro long wear foundation. Then again, I've stopped reaching out for them because it takes too much effort to get to because I've packed a bunch of stuff on top of my train case.

Eco Tools bamboo finishing kabuki $6.99 - Eco Tools brushes are famous for being soft, and this one doesn't beg to differ. It's a typical stippling brush, but just softer and I got this mainly for travel purposes. Cheap and effective, love it.

MAC paint pot in quite natural $16.50 - I use this on my eyebrows in place of an eyebrow pencil ever since I colored my hair brown. Then I apply dark brown eyeshadow to make it darker since the paint pot is just a brown, not light, not dark. This product lasts forever. I've been using it everyday for two months now and barely made a hole in it.

Bobbi brown gel liner in black ink $21.00 - My beloved Smashbox gel liner has been nearing the end of its lifestyle so I decided to try out a new one. My eyelids are extremely oily and it does a good job at staying put when the weather's not too humid here. However, summer's been humid here in Hawaii, so I use some UDPP to make it last longer. Sometimes I give into the hype (not that it's a bad thing) and buy things that are being raved about, but I tend to take a while to buy it. I like this eye liner, but I think Smashbox's gel liner is better for me.

Bdellium Tools studio brush #957 (travel-sized) $15.00 - I've always wanted a brush like this and so I got it. It's a very pretty brush and my current favorite brush to apply and buff foundation and powder to my face.

Tweezerman Tweezerette tweezer $7.00 - This tweezer grips onto hairs really good. I haven't tried the original Tweezerman tweezers so I don't know how they compare. However, I have a hard time tweezing my super thin and super short hairs with this tweezer but I blame my hairs more than I blame the tweezer. I'll probably look more into the Tweezerman pointed tweezer for my next tweezer purchase. (I've never used the word tweeze so much before!) Switzerland is the best place for steel tools! ;)

NOTD: chocolate truffle with a touch of mauve :)

A few weeks ago my thoughtful friend Clarissa gave me a bunch of Revlon nail polishes because she thought I'd make more use of it, being that she's not all that into nail polishes. I didn't get a chance to test any of them out until today. I love the array of colors that I received from her. Thanks Clarissa!

I tested out chocolate truffle and touch of mauve together. I love the simple design that I made with a cute teddy-bear like color combination. Too bad I couldn't paint my dominant, no matter how meticulous I tried to be, so it's just plain brown.

Haul: Nov. 21 - nail polish, make up, lip conditioners

Behold, this must be my real first haul :) Most of which were bargained for (details throughout this post). Most products were bought on a whim and all were purchased in a span of 2 weeks. Sometimes I forgot to mention products that I buy on a weekly basis because sometimes I just forget that it even exists, lol. 

On a side note, I've begun to utilize iPhoto just for the sake of importing pictures from my memory card since it automatically puts them into a folder by its date. Then, I transfer by dragging the folders into other folders in my external hard drive because that's really where I archive anything and everything... it's my baby; it's my life! 

Well before I start talking about other things, I hope you enjoy. :) 

Color Club nail polishes

• Who are you wearing? 
• High society
• Best dressed list
• Charity ball
• Uptown girl
• She's sooo glam
• Ms. socialite

I bought these at Ross for $7.99, that'd be about a dollar plus tax for each so it was very much a steal. Fortunately this was the last one there, unless they restocked on it after I left. One thing that I don't like about these packs (this is my third Color Club pack) but then again it doesn't even matter to me is the fact that the nail polish bottles don't have labels of their color names on them. I'm really not the type to remember each and every name for color, so I don't care for it. It just sucks because I can't refer to the color for fellow bloggers to indulge upon.

This is a color test of the fourth nail polish in that line of Color Club nail polishes. The no-flash picture is more true to its color but I couldn't get a good picture of it due to the dim lighting that I currently have. The consistency is pretty alright and typical: 2-3 coats of nail polish. I needed 3 with this application because with just 2 it turned out orange. After all it's a brown with an orange undertone. I love this color, it's sort of but not really comparable to a nail polish color that came out with MAC's Tartan themed products. 

 

Sinful Colors nail polishes 

($1.99 each at Walgreens)

• Nail junkie
• Hottie
• Pinky glitter

Sally Hansen nail polishes

($5 for both on a bogo sale at Walgreens)

• Disco ball
• Purple pizzazz

All that glitters ain't gold...

I've been falling in fancy with things that glitter lately, and news on the block is that they're in this holiday season (when are they never?). All of these colors contain glitter and are perfect for a top color on top a base color for a cool effect because the colors you see are quite sheer and translucent, except for the last one which has more of its own color. I'm not sure when I'll get to give them all a test drive but I can reckon that it won't be in quite a while... lol. 

Korres lip butter glaze

($24 for a 3-pack at Sephora)

• Jasmine
• Pomegranate
• Raspberry

My favorite lip product ever is Korres' lip butter in pomegranate because of it's subtle color when applied on my lips. I purchased the pack at Sephora because it was a holiday special unknowing if they were going to be available for single purchase after that. Having to use my finger or find a lip applicator to use my original lip butter was too much of a hassle for me. I like squeeze tubes better and so I used my logic that told me it was a win-win situation... lol... help me. 

Aquafina lip balms ($5.99 for a 3 pack with a bonus lip oil)

I'm not sure where the other lip balm and lip oil is... lol. I have a habit of losing lip balms which is why I often buy more, and more, and more for assurance that I'll always have one or some. :) 

Next of the mash up is dedicated to my eyes.

Actually most of these prices are an estimation because I can't give you the exact amount because I don't know where my receipts are.

MAC paint pot in bare canvas ($16)

Paula Dorf eyeshadow primer in deep ($12)

The Balm batter up ($22)

Prestige eyeshadow in onyx ($2.50) 

Wet n' Wild eyeshadows

($1 each, originally $1.99 each but I had some coupons)

• Sugar
• Lagoon
• Penny
• Envy
• Kitten

Revlon contour shadow brush ($5.99 each but one was 50% off, bogo ftw! from Walgreens) I love these brushes. They're really good drugstore brushes, not too soft and not too stiff, perfect for the crease area and for blending.

Revlon precision lash adhesive ($4.99 at CVS) I love this lash adhesive. I swear that I have the worst luck with squeeze tubes because of my butter fingers that can never give a consistent amount on the whole lash... but this is love... for me at least because of my eyes. Prior to purchasing this, I had got to a cancer fundraiser and my falsies hadn't been applied at its best manner so I was forced to take them off because I forgot to bring the glue with me and in turn forced to look for a better, more reliable adhesive. 

Bobbi Brown lip balm ($18 at Bobbi Brown) This just caught my eye... just another lip balm for my collection.